


light the sky

by FancifulRivers



Series: white like an oleander [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Episode: s05e25 Legs From Here To Homeworld, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Pearls feels convention, Post-Episode: s05e25 Legs From Here to Homeworld, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Save this Pearl, The Diamonds are Awkward, Why are we on Earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 09:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15434379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FancifulRivers/pseuds/FancifulRivers
Summary: White Pearl begins to adjust to life on Earth.And the ability to feel. It's not easy.Sequel to"dissipate".





	light the sky

You guide White Pearl toward the others, still clustered on the beach. She is shaky on her feet, but you are relieved to see that she is no longer poised on the tips of her toes. Whatever Pink Diamond has done to her seems to have healed her. Whether she is wholly cured is beyond the scope of your knowledge.

"My Diamond," you murmur, bending low in a sweeping curtsy. Your Diamond pushes aside heavy strands of hair, peering down at you. Yellow Diamond is there, too, squinting at the pearl standing so meekly next to you.

"She looks-  _oh_ -" your Diamond stops, her hand flying to her mouth in a universal gesture of horror. "Yellow, her  _eye_ \- her  _gem_ -"

Yellow Diamond looks vaguely queasy.

"Is she better?" Yellow Diamond asks. You are unsure who she intends to answer. Yellow Pearl steps forward.

"My Diamond," she says. Yellow Diamond looks impatient. "I believe so. Pink-"

"Steven," Pearl interrupts. "He used his powers to heal her. But I never thought..." She falters, arms wrapping tightly around her middle.

"Pink!" Yellow shouts. Pink Diamond- Steven- looks up from his conversation with Greg, then runs over.

"Did you heal her?" your Diamond questions. He looks confused for a moment, then nods.

"I think so?" He says hesitantly. "I touched her eye, where the cracks were. Then...I don't know what happened."

Yellow Diamond looks unsatisfied with this answer, but you think it is the best she is going to get. Pink was never very good at expressing her abilities at the best of times, never mind something like this.

"Pearl," your Diamond leans closer, catching your attention. "Yellow and I must leave for a while. Can I count on you to keep an eye on White Pearl here?" 

It is only training, the training embedded in the depths of your gem, that keeps your mouth from dropping, from your knees slumping or your traitorous voice begging to stay with her. A Diamond leaving her  _pearl_ behind? But beside you, you can hear Yellow Diamond ordering the same, and pride draws you up to your best posture.

"Of course, my Diamond," you say, voice calm. 

"Thank you," your Diamond says, shocking you further. She has expressed gratitude before, but usually only in the sanctity of her own quarters. Never in such a crowded place. Never in front of a fellow Diamond. But Yellow Diamond doesn't look displeased. She is too focused on her own pearl.

"Come on," Pearl murmurs. "Let's get her into the beach house."

White Pearl follows obediently enough, letting you and Yellow Pearl nearly drag her up the steps. It unsettles you. Pearls are made to be seen and not heard, to anticipate their owner's desires, but whatever has happened to White Pearl has warped her beyond anything you can imagine.

"Here," Pearl directs and you settle her on a low, squashy couch. You hover helplessly, not sure what you're supposed to do now. If there's anything  _to_ do. You don't want to stay on Earth with the Crystal Gems. You are all too aware of their feelings toward your Diamond, even if they have somewhat shifted through the recent events. 

"Sit," Pearl tells you and Yellow Pearl. "I'll make tea." You exchange a look with Yellow Pearl under your bangs. What is tea?

Some kind of flavored liquid, you discover. You don't really like it after the first sip, but Pearl adds a heaping spoonful of something called sugar. After that, it is tolerable. Yellow Pearl takes one look and refuses point blank to even taste it. You aren't surprised.

"Would you like some tea?" Pearl asks White Pearl. You suppose calling her that isn't the best, reminding her of events best left in the past, but you don't know what else to call her.

White Pearl tilts her head. Her gem glimmers softly in the light. It is strange to see it in its proper place, bright and smooth in place of her eye. Her unmarked midriff makes you feel sick and you take another sip of tea.

"Yes, please," White Pearl says softly. It sounds like it still hurts her to talk.

Garnet steps through the door and you stiffen. You don't know how you feel about her. Them. You remember the ruby and sapphire who disrupted your Diamond's court thousands of years ago. You don't understand why they are still fused. How they are still fused. It makes no sense.

"How is she?" Garnet asks. Pearl shrugs, taking a mug of tea to White Pearl.

"She is better, I think," Pearl says, sitting on the couch next to her fellow pearl. "Are you?"

"Yes," White Pearl says at once, then frowns, her forehead wrinkling. "No. I don't know." She looks up and you see tears in her eye, turning it glassy.

"What is it?" Garnet asks. You feel a frown tugging at your mouth. She won't understand. This is a  _pearl_ matter and Garnet is not a pearl. Neither of her components are pearls. It is-

"It hurts," White Pearl confesses in a tiny voice, plucking at her skirts with her free hand. She holds the mug like she doesn't know what to do with it. "Everything- there's so much, I don't-" She hunches over, her fingers brushing across her gem over and over, patting it with short, soothing motions.

"Take your time," Garnet encourages. She looks up and motions the two of you closer. Yellow Pearl bristles, but you tiptoe over, settling on the floor as gracefully as you can. After a moment, Yellow Pearl joins you. Her shoulder flounces brush against you.

"I remember-" White Pearl pauses, the side of her mouth drooping. "I- I betrayed my Diamond, I-" Her form glitches once and you nearly lunge forward, as if you can prevent anything. Pearl rescues the mug, setting it aside. "My gem-" Her fingertips prod it, almost angrily. "It is wrong, I am wrong, I should be shattered immediately, I have betrayed my Diamond, I have betrayed the Diamond Authority, I have-"

"No, you haven't," Yellow Pearl interrupts her, nasally voice breaking through her nearly robotic babble. "My Diamond and Blue Diamond brought you here. Pink Diamond  _healed_ you. How can you betray the Diamond Authority when three of the Diamonds have assisted you?"

White Pearl stares at her, her one eye gone huge and shocked. 

"But my Diamond," she protests feebly.

"Mistreated you," Pearl says. "You did not deserve that. Any of that." Pearl motions toward the formerly cracked side of White Pearl's head.

"I- but that means-" Her eye finally overfills with tears.

"Yes," Pearl says, voice surprisingly gentle. "I'm sorry."

White Pearl hunches over, sobs spilling between splayed fingers. You exchange an uneasy look with Yellow Pearl before you both rise to your knees and enfold the sobbing pearl in a hug. She stiffens at first, then collapses into your arms, weeping harder.

The screen door behind you bangs open. You turn your head to look and see Pink and the overcooked Amethyst standing in the doorway.

"Yo, is she all right?" Amethyst asks in a carrying whisper.

Garnet looks down at you. Her face seems almost thoughtful.

"She will be," she says.


End file.
